Chapter 35
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
The Dragon had taken me right across the forest when I’d fled Hendrix’s company, and I couldn’t deny the way the northern parts of the woods felt different.
The birds sang more softly here, the wind was more of a breeze, and even the leaves on the trees seemed more golden in tone than that deep green.
The silence kept me company in place of the brooding Fae I’d grown used to having at my back. And though I refused to admit I’d made any kind of mistake in running from him when I had, I could admit that it was a much lonelier place here without him.
I’d spent two days hunting for the Phoenix, searching an old stone tower which smelled of ash and was coated in narrow creepers thick with violet flowers, but there had been no sign of the spirit.
The Phoenix was the opposite to the Raven in that it coveted sunlight and had once made certain that every tree, plant and shrub within the forest got to feel the rays of the sun on their leaves so they could flourish to their fullest potential.
The two spirits were said to be in love with one another, creating balance as they flew over the trees, adoring what the other could bring and endlessly admiring the changes their magic brought to the forest.
I had no way to tempt such a spirit out but after hunting and searching, turning over every loose leaf and stone, I had finally come to the conclusion that another Champion must have claimed the beast I sought.
I’d found evidence of a campfire not far from the tower and boot prints in the mud by a burbling brook.
Between that and the haunting emptiness of this place, I had concluded that any further searching of this place was futile.
“What now?” I sighed, sinking down on the crumbling stone steps before the tower and taking the diary from my pack.
A little chill rolled down my spine as I turned the pages, the ghost of its previous owner seeming all the closer now that I understood she had been me in some form.
I’d spent many hours wondering over the lives I’d lived before, searching through my memories for a glimmer of something beyond what I had experienced in my own twenty-two years, but there was nothing there.
I didn’t believe the versions of me which had come before had truly been me.
They might have had my face, my body, even some form of my spirit, but this life I was living now was the only one I would ever know or accept as my own.
I supposed in a way the other versions of myself were like ancestors.
They may have contributed to my make up in some small part, but they hadn’t influenced it directly.
They weren’t me and I wasn’t them. Which I had decided to believe was for the best – they’d failed in this task after all. And they hadn’t had Rissa either.
I’d stepped out into the night twice now in hopes of meeting with my sister again, calling her name into the dark before fleeing behind closed doors once more.
I didn’t seem to need to fear the Lost Children the way the other Champions did but that didn’t mean there weren’t other things which lurked in the darkness that might take a bite of me if I lingered there too long.
Even the forest seemed less hospitable once the sun had fallen from the sky. The trees were more hostile, more wild, as if the sun were the only thing reminding them not to become as malevolent as the curse demanded.
I wasn’t sure if there was truth in those assumptions but neither the Dragon nor the Raven had denied them.
“Where should we hunt next?” I asked, summoning both of my spirits and watching as they materialised before me.
The Raven cawed in greeting, hopping up to perch on the step at my side, swathing me in darkness so deep that I had to lean forward to hold the map out of its reach to be able to see it at all.
The spirit released an amused chirrup and nuzzled against me.
I’d been surprised to find out how affectionate the spirit could be the first time it had done such a thing, but I’d soon grown used to its exuberant greetings.
The Raven didn’t speak as often as the Dragon did in my mind – though it always listened intently when I was the one talking.
The Dragon was more austere, moving through the clearing at the base of the tower, its long, serpentine body coiling between the trees before it laid itself down facing me, its regal head resting atop crossed front paws.
“We could head west and hunt for the Carp,” I mused, tracing the lines of the map, though in truth, there were notes in the diary about the Carp’s location which made it clear that it was very much a guess on the part of the woman who had drawn it. “Or… east in hopes of finding the Unicorn.”
I glanced at the Raven who simply cawed again, its silken wing draping around my shoulders, no answer clear in either gesture. The Dragon huffed wearily like it was tired of my shit. Crotchety thing that it was.
I hmmed, considering the options. The Carp was an interesting spirit to say the least. My book on the spirits wasn’t exactly complimentary about it when describing its powers or the responsibilities it had once held.
I tugged the book free of my pack and read over the now-familiar words once more, my eyes drawn to the white and orange Carp which glimmered in the illustrations beneath the chapter heading.
The Carp is a curious spirit indeed. Some theorise that its creation was something of a jest by the Great Elm, or perhaps a mistake altogether. Though large and beautiful in its own way, the Carp’s dominion was over puddles – a most peculiar endeavour.
It is said that the Carp liked to flick its fins and throw water around the forest to create these puddles, though their use to the trees and the creatures within them is questionable.
Of course it was the Bear who ensured all of the forest was kept watered and even made certain to care for the streams, brooks, rivers, ponds and lakes within the forest’s bounds which kept the trees and animals sustained for their thirst.
Why then was there a need for puddles?
It is always hard to divulge the purpose behind the actions of the spirits, but in this case, there seems to be no answer which makes any kind of sense beyond perhaps boredom or a desire for amusement.
The Carp is no fighter, nor is it particularly fast even in the water.
It would likely be the easiest of the spirits to capture, especially as it so often leapt from its pools and ended up flapping around on the forest floor until such a time as one of the other spirits took pity upon it and returned it to its domain.
“Easy does sound nice,” I commented, though I had to wonder that after this long, if the Carp was so easy to capture, wouldn’t one of the other Champions have already done so by now?
I knew of course that the Dragon, Raven, Bear, Fox and Wolf were accounted for already.
It seemed the Stag, Boar and Phoenix had been found too, if my fruitless searching was proof of anything.
The Rat and the Tiger had been taken by Islasees.
So all that might now remain were the Unicorn, Carp, and Serpent.
The Serpent which Rissa had been riding through the trees…
I frowned as I thought on that. Rissa wasn’t a Champion, and to my understanding, couldn’t claim a spirit for herself, nor had she been wearing an amulet.
So how had she bonded with it? Would she really be able to convince it to join with me?
If so, then I could count myself as having three amulets already.
One more would surely mean I had the most in that case.
And if not and someone else had gained four too, then I needed to have the more powerful set. The Carp wouldn’t help much with that.
I flipped to the part about the Unicorn.
The image on the page made my heart ache as I took it in.
The Unicorn was a stunning white mare with a golden starburst on its brow where its horn stood proud, shimmering with ethereal light.
Its mane and tail were a carpet of pale blossoms in every shade and style, roses, peonies, tulips, daisies and many more besides, all draping down around it to brush along the floor.
The Unicorn was the bringer of life to the forest, spreading blossom and blooms wherever its hooves fell.
Often agreed to be among the most powerful of the spirits of the forest, the Unicorn is shy and elusive by nature but can be brutal and unrelenting when provoked, using its horn to maim and even kill if it feels the life of the forest is being threatened.
I drummed my fingers against the pages of the book, looking between the two spirits I’d already won.
My confidence in this task had grown immensely since gaining the Raven for my own.
Yes, claiming the Dragon had been colossal, but until I had tempted the Raven into joining with me too, I had feared that my method of trying to prove myself worthy to the spirits might have been a fluke.
Now I felt far more confident that it would work again.
The Fox had come for my flames, the Wolf had been herded by the light I’d steered, and I truly believed that my idea for securing the Unicorn might just work too.
“Let’s go after the Unicorn,” I decided, as my spiritual companions clearly had no intention of giving me their opinion.
The Dragon raised its head, then released a heavy breath which made the feathers around its jaw ruffle.
I made quick work of repacking my bag, then slung it onto my back and strode down the tower steps to the enormous spirit.
It still took my breath away to look at the beast of legend, still made my heart pound faster to approach it.
“Would you mind flying me across the forest to this spot?” I asked, holding out the map for the Dragon to look at and pointing to the little Unicorn drawn in a place several miles to the east.